New Beginnings
by TheSparker
Summary: When Clary moves to New York, she doesn't expect her life to turn upside down. She meets the school's number one heart-breaker, but who will break who's heart?
1. Chapter 1

**Due to a new account this is a story that I already had on here, I'm just putting this on my new account. -TheSparker**

Clary pulled herself out of bed, groaning. She was dreading the day about to come. About a month ago her mom had told her that they would be moving. Even though Clary yelled, cried, and fought, nothing would change Jocelyn's mind.

"Clary, breakfast," Jocelyn yelled from the small kitchen in their new apartment.

Clary quickly put on her clothes for the day and walked over to the kitchen. She was still not really talking to her mom, she was still mad about the whole moving situation.

She quickly ate her breakfast and ran out the door. Her new school was about ten blocks away so she walked. Clary dreaded making new friends, she was so shy and hardly anyone had the same interests as her.

After a thirty minute walk she arrived at Idris High School.

Odd name, she thought to herself.

The school itself was magnificent. Compared to all the new, modern buildings in New York, Idris High was a real sight to see. It resembled an old Cathedral or Castle with only a few modern additions. Clary climbed up the steps leading to the front doors, her heart was pounding like a hummingbird's wings.

She kept telling herself that she could do this. That she had nothing to worry about, it was only high school after all. She pushed through the double doors, hardly anyone was in the halls. She got to school especially early so she could find her locker and classes. The office was to her right.

She walked over to the nearest desk attendant, who refused to look up. After a minute of waiting, Clary cleared her throat loudly. The lady looked up, "You must be the new student. Here is your welcome packet, and the principal wants to speak with you; third door on the left."

Clary muttered "thanks" and grabbed the packet. She walked over to the door she was told to go to and heard some sort of yelling coming from inside. She heard a female yell, "Don't let me catch you doing that again, Wayland!" There was a screech of a chair against the wooden floor and suddenly the door flung open.

There wasn't just a teenage boy standing in front of her, but a teenage god. He had golden hair that almost perfectly matched his golden eyes. He wore a black shirt that gripped his body oh so nicely, Clary couldn't help but notice. The boy ran a hand through his golden swirls of hair before realizing Clary was in front of him. He pulled down his hand and smirked. "You know it isn't polite to stare. But considering it is me that you're admiring, I guess its okay."

Clary came back to reality and scrunched her eyebrows together. "I wasn't staring. Just making a mental list of which assholes I should stay away from."

"You know most girls would kill to be near me." He took a step closer to her.

Clary just smirked, "Well lucky for me I'm not most girls." Before the boy could reply, Clary side-stepped around him and walked into the office.

The woman inside motioned for her to sit down in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"You must be Clarissa Fray?" She asked, while straightening some objects on her desk.

"Yeah, Clary,"

"Oh, well Clary let me be the first to say, welcome to Idris High School. You should be able to find your classes using the map in your packet, but in case you can't you can always ask me or another student."

Clary nodded.

"Well that's pretty much it. Unless you have any questions, I hope you have a good first day at Idris High."

Clary stood up, "Thank you," After leaving the office she headed out to find her locker. After a couple minutes of staring at her map, she found it. Her locker was straight across the hall from her first period. She took out half of the things in her backpack, then just sat down in front of her locker and took out a sketch book. She lost track of time, when the bell rang signaling students to go to their first period. Clary walked into an empty class and had a little chat with the teacher, Mr. Garroway. He gave her a seat in the back. She sat down and took out her sketch book and continued her drawing. Students started filling up the classroom, all talking with their friends until Mr. Garroway told them to sit down.

She didn't take notice of anyone in particular, until one golden boy sat down in the seat next to her. "Hey," He said smirking.

"You have got to be kidding me," She muttered under her breath before turning to him.

He laughed and kept staring at her.

"Can I help you with something?"

"You, me, a date tonight, seven o'clock, I can pick you up." He just reeked of confidence.

"Do you always ask girls out on their first day?" Clary countered with a question.

"No, but you can be my exception. What do you say?"

"Absolutely not," She almost laughed.

"Why," He whined.

Before Clary could respond, Mr. Garroway yelled out, "Jace, stop talking to Clary, she obviously isn't interested."

Half of the class laughed, Clary expected him to be embarrassed, but he just smirked.

"We'll see." He muttered under his breath.

So the golden boy's name was Jace, Jace Wayland.


	2. Chapter 2

Days passed at it was finally Friday. Clary walked into her homeroom to find Jace sitting in her seat. She rolled her eyes and sighed walking over to the devil himself.

"Jace," She breathed.

"Why hello, Clary, I was wondering if you have been informed that my siblings and I would be hosting a fabulous start of school party. Everyone's going, what about you?" He said without breaking eye contact.

Clary studied him for a second, reading his body language. She already rejected him, why would he care if she was going to a party. She was the new student, the no body.

"What's it to you, Jace?" Hoping she put all the venom she could into the sentence.

"Cause you're going to be my date." He smirked confidently.

Of course, Clary thought. He just needed a date, but why her? She was the art- obsessed red head. He was the golden boy. Clary didn't need someone like that in her life. She needed easy and nothing about Jace said easy.

"You still want to go out with me even after I publically rejected you? Well, you know Jace, I asked around about you?" Clary frown turned into a smirk.

"Well did you ask the girls who dated me or the girls that are dying to be with me?" He leaned close enough that Clary could smell the type of body wash he used. It was strong but not overwhelming, and very masculine.

"Well, they say said you're an arrogant ass. You only think about yourself. You could care less if you broke every girl on the face of the planet's heart into tiny little pieces that could never be repaired." She said all in one breathe.

Jace looked taken back for a millisecond, but he pulled back into his regular self, "I see you asked my ex's, which is basically every girl in the school. Yeah, everyone wants some of this," He gestured to himself.

Clary almost gagged. "Well, I'll probably go to your party, but you can bet your ass I won't be going with you."

Jace's eyes glowed, "Checking out my ass?"

Class went by fast and soon enough Clary was packing up her stuff and scrambling out the door. She was fiddling with her backpack, so she didn't notice someone walking in front of her. The other girl was much taller, so Clary went down. When Clary looked up she caught the eyes of the girl standing over her. She had beautiful almond shaped blue eyes. She had a very sleek body and jet black hair. She was gorgeous.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She kept saying to Clary.

"No, no it was my fault. I'm sorry." Clary replied standing up.

The girl looked Clary over, making her feel uncomfortable. "You must be Cary, the new kid?"

"Um, Clary, but yeah,"

The girl beamed, "I'm Isabelle, hey I'm having a party tonight, you should come."

Of course someone so beautiful was connected to Jace, of course. "Yeah, you must be related to Jace."

"Yeah, he's my brother. You've met him?"

"Oh yeah, he seems like a great guy." Clary loaded on the sarcasm.

"You know you're the first one to not like him after the first impression. He usually can charm any girl." She said looking at Clary with an impressed look.

"Then I must be the only exception." She laughed.

Isabelle laughed too, "I like you, why don't you come over early and we can get ready together."

The only thing Clary wanted to do the first week at her new school was make new friends, now one just walked up to her, "That'd be fun."

They exchanged information and both parted ways. They went to their different classes, both thinking the same thing: they would be fantastic friends.


	3. Chapter 3

Isabelle told Clary to meet her by her car after school. As Clary came into the parking lot she looked around for Izzy. After a second, she spotted a tall dark haired girl waving her hands towards her, yeah that's Izzy. Clary couldn't help but notice her car; it was a clean black Prius. Once she got close enough, she noticed two other people already in the car. Jace in the passenger seat and a boy she hadn't met before in the driver's seat. Isabelle hoped in on the left side and Clary sat down on the right.

"Clary, this is my older brother Alec, and you've already met Jace." Izzy explained.

She looked at Alec through the overhead mirror. From what she could see, he had piercing blue eyes, the same as Isabelle's; he also had jet black hair that fell slightly over his eyebrows. Clary admired his features but she noticed something about his eyes. They weren't exactly warm, like they were holding something cold and dark.

His eyes looked up and met hers, "Nice to meet you, Clary."

"You too," Clary muttered.

The drive to the Lightwoods house was pretty quiet; Clary couldn't help but stare at Jace's body in front of her. He didn't look back once. Suddenly they pulled up to a huge house, maybe even a mansion. It had white columns on the outside, and a huge drive way. This should be one hell of a party.

"Most of the party will be outside; we have a pool and huge deck area. But seeing as most of us like to get really wasted, we have a huge grass field that Alec likes to roll on when he gets drunk." Jace wiggled his eyebrows at Alec.

"It was one time!" Alec exclaimed. Everyone was laughing and Clary couldn't help but laugh along.

"So do you guys clean up, I mean, it must be a lot." Clary asked.

Isabelle laughed, "Oh course not, that would take hours. We pay under classmen to do it." Of course they're rich they can do anything if they put a price tag on it.

"Oh, the things they'll do to be near the best." Jace put a hand to his chest.

Isabelle and Clary looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

Clary and Isabelle went up to Izzy's room and the boys stayed downstairs getting everything ready. Clary walked into Izzy's room and was amazed with what she saw. The room was huge with a queen bed in the back. There was a large wardrobe and a desk with miscellaneous things scattered across it. Izzy went straight to the wardrobe.

"So, Clary, what are you going to wear?" Isabelle asked.

"Um, well, this." She gestured to the clothes she was wearing. Isabelle stared at her then gave her a look that said 'are you kidding me'.

"I think I have something that might actually fit you!" She exclaimed and flew to the back of the wardrobe. She gasped at threw a dress at Clary. "Go, go put it on. The bathroom is right there." She pointed to a door. While Clary was changing, Izzy found what she was going to wear. It was a tight, dark blue dress that fell halfway down her thigh. She added some black heels and put on some dark make up and she was ready to go.

Clary came out and Isabelle's eyes lit up, "Clary you look so great!"

Clary was wearing a black dress that was ruffled around her chest and flowy around the waist. It was jet black so it accented her bright red hair and flawless skin. Isabelle did her finished her makeup and looked at the time. "Shit, the party's starting in ten minutes.

People started showing up and soon enough most of the backyard was filled with juniors and seniors from the high school. Half of the people were already drunk, but there were still a lot of drinks.

Clary spotted a blonde head over at a table, it was Jace and he was busy doing shots with some of his other friends. Soon enough one boy collapsed. Clary ran over to them. She looked at the boy. He didn't seem like a guy Jace would be friends with. He had brown hair and glasses. He looked tall but he was really slim.

"I can't believe rat boy challenged you to shots, Jace!" Another guy yelled, clearly drunk.

The guy on the ground groaned. Clary grabbed his arm and pulled him over to a wall and sat him upright. The boy seemed too innocent to be at a party like this, he even had a gamer shirt. She sat with him for about ten minutes before his eyes started to open.

"What happened?" He asked.

"You were taking shots and passed out." Clary stated, she turned her head and realized that Jace was staring at her. Once he realized she was staring back at him he turned back to his friends and poured himself another drink.

"So I lost? I'm Simon, by the way." Clary couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm Clary."

The two talked for a little bit before a boy with jet black hair walked up to them. "You're Clary, right?" He asked.

How does everyone know who I am? Clary thought to herself.

"Um, yeah, do I know you?" She asked.

"Yeah I have Mr. Garroway with you. I'm Sebastian Verlac. Would you like to dance?" He asked extending an arm.

Clary snuck a glance at Jace, who was staring at her, once again. She turned back to Sebastian, "I would love to." She let Sebastian pull her up and said goodbye to Simon.

The two moved over to where a big group of people were dancing. They danced/grinded with each other for a while, Clary kept glancing over to where Jace was. He was always watching her with a look Clary couldn't distinguish. She needed to get him to leave her alone and she only knew one way to do it. She grabbed Sebastian's face with two hands and brought his lips down to hers.


	4. Chapter 4

Jace couldn't stand it. Sure he'd just met this girl but seeing her kissing another guy, let alone Sebastian Verlac, just lit him up. And it wasn't the vodka running through his veins. Let's just say Jace and Sebastian weren't exactly friends. More like enemies, ever since freshman year. Jace didn't really know why they hated each other so much, the feelings just appeared the first day they met. Then other events throughout the years fueled the fire. Now that fool was kissing the only girl in the school he wanted.

He turned back to his friends, Jordan and Jonathon. The three J's; some call them a triple threat. Jordan was the muscle, Jonathon was the brains, and Jace was the playboy-charmer. He grabbed a half full bottle of vodka and took three gulps of it, he growled as the fiery fluid swam down his throat. His friends looked at him skeptically. They knew something was up, but they never asked. Jace was just about as closed off as it gets. He never told anyone anything. His friends tried to open him up but no luck, eventually they just stopped trying.

Jace glanced back over to Clary and Sebastian, they were talking now. Clay's expression changed a little, Jace could see her body tense even from where he was standing. His foggy brain was wondering what was going on.

Clary could feel Jace's eyes on her. After a couple seconds she pulled away from Sebastian. This was the first time she really looked at him. He was extremely handsome. He had straight white hair that only he would be able to pull off. His sharp black eyes matched the perfect bone structure of his face.

His hands were strong around her waist.

She realized that she had been staring at Sebastian for far too long, to ease the awkwardness she coughed and said, "It might just be me but it seems like everyone in the school knows me already and I've only met a handful of people."

Sebastian smiled, "Well, that's because it's true, you are very known around this school Clary Fray."

Clary's eyebrows creased together. She didn't like the way Sebastian had worded that. She had an uncanny knack for being confused about, well, everything. "How,"

Sebastian smiled again, "Well, your little stalker," He turned Clary so she could see one person in particular, Jace. "Happened to mention how he thought he could get you into bed by the end of the year. Then the word got around and soon enough everyone knew about the Clary Fray that Jace wanted in bed. I'm sorry, Clary."

Clary's body filled with anger. Of course! The only thing that asshole wanted was to get laid. She could feel her body tense. "No. Thank you, Sebastian, for telling me. I have to go, uh… drink." She pulled away from Sebastian; her body was shaking from anger. She strutted to the closest table with different bottles on it. She grabbed the only bottle no one seemed to be drinking. It read 'Tequila', she didn't know much about alcohol but she knew this was going to be strong. She raised the bottle to her lips and took one big gulp. She almost spit it out, having never drunken alcohol before, but she forced it down. Her body started to feel lighter. She raised the bottle again and took to more sips, smaller this time.

Ten minutes later she was stumbling around almost on the ground. She literally fell into a guy walking across the lawn. Two strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her upright. She closed her eyes in embarrassment. The boy started laughing so she opened her eyes only to be met with a pair of gold ones.

"Jace," She yelled.

"Oh my god, Clary, how much did you drink?" He yelled right back at her.

Clary ignored the question and remembered why she had drunk in the first place. "What the hell is wrong with you?" She yelled at the top of her lungs, the anger erupting inside of her. She yanked his arms away from her and took a step away from him?"

Jace just laughed, "I have too many answers to that question that I don't know where to start."

That's when Clary blew up, "Oh really? You know Jace, you make it seem like you can be somewhat of a decent human being, but that's all a joke! You have no heart! No soul, whatsoever! You think you're some big shot, you can do whatever you want, break whosever heart you want. You must think you run this town, well guess what you don't. You have no morals. Maybe you think that you can be an ass to whomever you want and get away with it. You can treat people like they mean something then you never talk to them again. Well can't. You don't get to. You play with whatever toy comes across you, but not me. I won't let you play with me like you played with every other girl in this town. So just leave me alone." The venom from her words was dripping in her voice.

She turned around and strutted to the house, storming past Isabelle.

Isabelle had a grin running from one side of her face to the other, "Way to go Clary." Then chased after Clary into the house, only after glancing at Jace's surprised face and everyone else's amused reactions.


	5. Chapter 5

Izzy ran into the kitchen looking for Clary. She spotted her sitting in the island in the center of the kitchen sipping a glass of water. She looked upset; Isabelle thought she would be boasting about her kick-ass rant to Jace.

"Hey, Clary, are you okay?" She sat down in the chair next to her.

Clary took another sip from her glass, very slowly. Her eyes were nailed staring straight ahead of her. Her mouth opened slowly, "Sebastian told me something while we were dancing."

Sebastian! Ew, and dancing with him. Isabelle sighed, "What did he say?"

Clary closed her eyes, "He said that Jace told the whole school that he could sleep with me by the end of the year. That's how everyone knows me, and I guess that's why Jace keeps trying to talk to me. That asshole…"

Izzy laughed and Clary threw her a look," What?"

Izzy's laughter subsided, "Look, yeah Jace is an asshole, but he never said that. Trust me I know all the gossip that runs through school. Everyone knows you because we hardly ever get new kids here, especially ones with flaming red hair."

Clary look confused, "But then why would Sebastian-"

Izzy swiftly cut her off, "Sebastian and Jace hate each other. They always have. He saw that Jace took an interest in you and lied to you to prevent you from liking him."

Clary put her elbows on the table and dropped her head in her hands, "So I screamed at Jace for something that wasn't even true. Great, I think I just won a next biggest ass award." She groaned to prove her point.

Laughter just came from Izzy as she grabbed onto Clary's wrist, "Not really, everything you said was true and someone had to break the news to Jace. I think you outdid yourself with that little speech, well not so little I guess."

Clary brought her head up and smiled at Izzy, "You're a really good friend, Izzy."

"Aw, thanks Clary!" Isabelle beamed.

After Clary sobered up a little bit, the two girls walked out of the house and out into the back yard. Clary wasn't very surprised with what she saw, a group of teenagers surrounding two boys shoving each other.

Jace stood there stunned for a moment after Clary had walked into the house. He slowly lifted his cup and took a steady sip from the liquid inside. No one had said anything like that to him in a long time. Usually girls were flirting with him, not screaming at him. Sure he broke girl's hearts a lot, and some had the courage to year things like that at him before begging for him back. They always wanted him back. Clary was different; she was the only girl that didn't want him in the beginning. He liked that; he liked a challenge. Sure he was at least a little upset by what she had said, but he quickly shrugged it off and drowned his drink into his mouth.

"Wow, Wayland, I've never seen you speechless before. It's about time." Sebastian smiled, striding towards Jace.

"You looking for a fight, Verlac?" Jace turned towards Sebastian and took a step forward, dropping his empty, plastic cup on the grass. A small group of kids were starting to circle them.

He laughed, "I'm always looking for a fight with you, Jace. Let me ask you something," He leaned close to Jace. He spoke with barely a whisper, "How did you feel when you saw me kissing Clary?"

Jace shoved Sebastian with all his strength, but Sebastian was stealthy, he caught himself and grinned at Jace. Clearly knowing he hit a nerve.

"Touch me again, Wayland, and you'll wish you didn't." He voice was menacing, but Jace didn't back down. He would never back down to a tool like Sebastian Verlac.

Instead he just smiled and fake cringed, "Oh, Sebastian, you really have me scared. I might as well run inside and hide under my blanket." He took a step towards Sebastian holding his arms out in a frightened manor. That got a couple laughs from the crowd. Now it was Sebastian's turn to shove Jace. He caught himself easily and took a step closer to Sebastian. Soon enough the two of them were shoving each other left and right. Jace looked to his right to see a little red headed figure poking herself through the crowd and throwing her between him and Sebastian.

"What in the world do you two think you're doing?" Clary screamed at the boys.

Sebastian turned to her, "Well Clary you see we were-" He spoke calmly.

She turned to him with fire in her eyes, "It was a rhetorical question."

"Clary, you should know you can't use big words like that around Sebastian, he can't figure them out on his own." Jace said acting completely serious.

"And you, what do you want, acting so cool all the time." She yelled turning towards Jace.

He smiled, "You want to know what I want?" He called back to her. Before she could reply with some snarky remark Jace grabbed the sides of her head with his hands and placed his soft lips on Clary's. Clary had never felt a kiss like that, but within a millisecond she remembered who it was that was kissing her and she shoved his chest with all her might. When she looked up at Jace he wasn't looking at her, but past her. She turned around and was facing Sebastian; the look on his face was unreadable. The look on Jace's face meant that a new game had started, but she was about to end it.

"No, no I am not going to be a little pawn in you two's game of chess." She yelled backing away from the both of them.

"Oh of course not, Clary," Jace said, "I don't even know how to play chess."

After throwing Jace one of the dirtiest looks she had ever made, she spent the rest of the night drinking more alcohol and talking to Izzy hoping she wouldn't run into those two insufferable assholes again.


	6. Chapter 6

The weekend flew by much too fast for Clary. She didn't know what she was going to do about Jace, maybe just keep him at a distance. Soon enough she was sitting in Mr. Garroway's classroom absently listening to his lecture. Jace sat a couple seats away from her, his eyes fixed forward. He hadn't been paying her much attention like he usually did.

Clary just kept drawing in her notebook, and then her ears caught something she didn't like.

"Oh Jacey, you should really come over some time. My bed is really comfortable; I bet you'd like it." The girl, Aline, aka the biggest slut in the entire school, attempted to whisper into Jace's ear.

Before Clary could stop herself a low growl erupted from her throat. Jace turned to her with his signature smirk running across his face, "You ok, Clary?" He said knowing what had caused her to make the noise.

"Yeah, just the hiccups," She replied. Aline's eyes never left Jace and now her fingers were curling themselves into his golden hair. Clary couldn't help but frown at the sight. Why did she care? Jace was a player and Aline was a whore, they deserved each other. Clary should be happy to have him out of her hair. Since that kiss at the party they shared she couldn't help but stare at those soft pink lips and wonder what a real kiss from him would feel like. She cursed herself for thinking that way.

The week went on like that, with Jace flirting with thousands of girls and her being confused about everything. One day she was walking through the hall leaving her sixth period, when someone caught her arm and pulled her into the supply closet.

She immediately flicked the switch and the light lit up the room revealing Jace standing a foot away from her. "Jace," She hissed.

"Hey Clary, fancy meeting you here," She sighed and turned towards the door.

"I'm leaving," She reached for the door handle but a larger hand held her hand from moving the knob, she then realized that Jace was practically right up against her back. She turned around pulling her hand out from under his. He kept his hand on the handle.

"Alright, Jace, what is it that you desire from me?"

"A kiss," He said locking the door behind her.

Clary almost laughed but then saw the seriousness his face held. "What?"

"Well, I know you want me, seeing how jealous you get of other girls when they're around me. Plus I like you too so I want to show you what I can do for you."

She scoffed loudly, "I'm out of here."

"I'm not letting you leave until I get a kiss." He stated.

Clary sighed dramatically, "Fine," she growled.

She leaned in close to Jace, before closing her eyes and the space in between them, she saw Jace smile slightly. She paused for a second; this was a game, his game. He wants to make you feel special then dump you on the street like he does with any other girl. Well, two can play at that game.

Now it was her turn to smile slightly, she leaned in, her lips almost touching his. Then with one boost of strength she shoved him backwards and slipped out the door behind her.

Clary went to her locker, which was right next to Isabelle and Alec's lockers. There was an unfamiliar boy with Alec; he had black sparkly hair and cat- like eyes.

"Hey Izzy, who's that?" She asked nodding towards the glittery boy.

"Oh that's Alec's new friend, his name is Magnus." Isabelle wiggled her eyes at the word 'friend'.

Clary smiled widely.

Clary went home after that, she went to her room immediately like she always did. She finished up her homework and pulled out her sketchpad, drawing whatever came to mind.

Diner was great; her mom was a fabulous cook along with artist. While they were cleaning up the front door swung open and in walked a very drunk Valentine Morgenstern.

Valentine wasn't a man to be messed with, especially drunk. He was an angry drunk type of person. He got drunk about 3 times a week, but usually he came home late enough that Clary would be asleep. Sometimes when she couldn't sleep she would hear the things he called her mother in their bedroom when he got home. He was violent, Clary knew that. He had only hit her when she was a child and he thought she couldn't remember, but she could. There were various cuts on her mother's body and bruises that would show up out of nowhere. Whenever she would ask her mother about it, she was just say she was 'clumsy' or something else. Clary could still see that sadness and pain poorly hidden in her mother's eyes.

"You didn't make me any dinner, Jocelyn?" He bellowed into the dining room.

She stopped cleaning dishes and turned to her husband with scared eyes, "I didn't think you would be home, dear." She said with a small voice.

He sighed dramatically, "Of course, you worthless, inconsiderate bitch! You never think of me, do you?" He turned to Clary, "What are you looking at?" He snarled.

Clary was fed up, she was fed up with the way he talked to her and her mother, the way he thought he did everything in the house, the way he walked around like he owned the world and could treat it however he wanted. She was fed up.

"You can't talk to her like that anymore!" She yelled, "She does most of the work in this house. The only times you're ever here, you're drunk! And I am sick of it. Go get yourself cleaned up and go to bed. You need to get you shit together, father."

His drunken eyes looked at her incredibly. Then his body started to shake, his hands clenched up at his sides and his face reddened. "I do everything!" He grabbed a place off the table, "I make the money," He threw it into the wall next to Clary's head. "You just waste the money I earn!" He threw another one. "You don't do anything for this family!" He took a step towards her. They were about five feet apart.

"At least I'm a part of this family!" She yelled right in his face.

His eye's flared and his arm reached out, snapping the back of his hand against her cheek bone.

Clary couldn't believe what just happened. Jocelyn ran to her and Valentine just walked away and slugged up the stairs to bed. Clary hadn't noticed earlier but one of the plate's pieces had cut a long cut from right collar bone, to a third way up her neck, something that couldn't easily be hid. Her mom cleaned up the cut and checked on the bruising mark that was forming on her face. Clary went to bed shaken up and fallen apart, begging tomorrow would be better.


	7. Chapter 7

Clary woke up and walked into the bathroom, the first thing she noticed was the light purple bruise on her cheekbone and a long cut on her shoulder/ neck. She groaned wondering how in the world she was going to cover it up. Clary never wore makeup so she couldn't hide the mark on her face. She wore a collared blouse that day to hide the scratch for the most part.

Walking into school wasn't that bad, most people could only see the top of her head. That might have been the only time Clary was happy to be short. The only thing she was really dreading was Isabelle's reaction. She walked towards her locker, keeping her face down. Unfortunately, her locker was on the right side of Izzy's, so Izzy had a clear view of the bruise on the side of Clary's face.

"What the hell happened? Did you get into a fight?" Isabelle flung her locker closed and gripped onto Clary's face. Her eyes were scanning every inch of Clary.

"No, no, I just, uh, walked into a door." Clary stated awkwardly. She never was good at lying.

"And that," Izzy pointed to the cut on Clary's neck.

"I got a cat yesterday, then it attacked me and we had to send it back." She tried to pry Izzy's hands off her jaw.

Isabelle rolled her eyes dramatically, "Fine, Clary, don't tell me. Just let me know this, did you win?"

Clary laughed, "Yeah sure, Iz."

Isabelle smiled and walked away, leaving Clary to exchange text books and notebooks inside her locker. She zoned out a little thinking of the things that had occurred the previous night, she didn't notice someone walk up to her.

"You really are a terrible liar." Jace stated leaning against the locker next to hers.

She turned to him, "So what if I am, guess I haven't had a lot of practice. Shouldn't that be a good thing?"

"It all depends on the type of person you are. You, for instance, probably don't need it. You're a goody-goody, only time you've ever rebelled was at that party, huh? You follow the rules, follow your curfew, listen to your parents, all that." He said matter of factly.

"Alright, it's your turn, Jace. You're the type of kid parents warn their little children about. You try to break the rules. You think it makes you untouchable. You have gained all the skills you think you need. When really the only thing they will get you through is a fraternity house." She said crossing her arms over her chest.

Jace laughed, "Maybe so, but do you know how I know what I do? That bruise, you didn't get into a fight. You aren't stupid enough to do that; you'd clearly lose because of your size and weight. I know how you got that, Clary, and I know the reason. You stepped over the line. You've been perfect all your life and then you crossed the line and someone didn't like it. Tell me I'm wrong?" He leaned in close to her.

She self consciously pulled at the collar of her shirt.

She gulped, "How did you get all that out of just one look?"

Jace smiled coldly, "My birth father and your father have the same way of taking out their anger."

Jace walked away and Clary stood there for a second.

How could he be so stupid? Why in the world would he tell Clary such a personal thing, something he's never told anyone else? He kept walking down the hall to his first class when Aline linked onto his arm. He shrugged her off.

"Hey Jacey," She exclaimed.

He sighed, "Go away," She just grabbed onto his arm again.

"But, Jacey, I'm your girlfriend."

He made a face of pure disgust, "Hell no, you are not! I'm done with this," He motioned his arm in front of him, "Whatever this is. I no longer need or want your presence around me, now shoo." He brushed her away.

Her face contorted with pain and she walked away sulking.

What Jace needed was time to get his head straight and figure out what was going on with Clary. When he saw her injuries, something triggered in himself. Concern? Maybe, he wasn't sure. He knew he couldn't have feelings for her; he never had feelings for anyone. His one true love was himself, after all.

But maybe Clary was different; he knew she wasn't someone who would let him take advantage of her. She was the only girl in the school that didn't bow down to him after seeing his features that even Apollo himself would be jealous of. She was a challenge to Jace, and Jace never let go of a challenge, especially a midget one with flaming red hair and a snarky attitude. He smiled walking into class.


	8. Chapter 8

Clary needed to forget about Jace, and all he had said. She couldn't understand how he knew all of those things; the two hardly knew each other. She needed to give him the cold shoulder every time he got close. She couldn't allow herself to get close to a boy again, not after the last one. She shivered at the thought.

At her locker, Clary noticed Jace walking up to her from the corner of her eye. She quickly slammed her locker and practically flew into her first period. She smiled to herself, and then remembered that Jace was in her first period. She cursed loudly, earning herself a few weird looks.

Jace walked up to her desk, "Everything ok?" He asked.

She lifted her face and nodded quickly. He cupped the side of her face with one hand stopping her, supporting him on her desk with the other hand. He lightly swept his thumb across the fading bruise on her cheekbone. "It's going away." He stated.

She winced; jerking away from his hand, the memory of her father's knuckles against her face burned the back of her eyes. She hoped Jace didn't notice the quick repel. He did.

"Clary, I didn't mean to…" He said lowly.

"No, no, Jace, it's fine. Really," She said, not looking him in the eye.

Mr. Garroway called for the class's attention, throughout class, Jace kept on looking towards Clary, hoping to catch her eye, but she refused to meet his gaze. He knew something was up with her, but what?

While walking out of class, he grabbed her arm and dragged into the boy's bathroom across the hall. "Everybody out!" He called. A couple boys groggily pulled up their zippers and left. He locked the door and turned back to her. "Talk," He stated.

Clary shrugged, "What's there to talk about?"

Jace smirked, "Oh I don't know, maybe why you've been avoiding me?"

"Avoiding you?" She attempted to raise an eyebrow.

Jace let out a huge sigh, "Yes, Clary, you've been avoiding me. Ever since I explained to you how I knew how you got that bruise," She winced, "you've been avoiding me. I demand to know why!"

"Why?" She asked, Jace looked confused, "Why do you care if I'm avoiding you? You've got all your little sluts to hang around with. Why do you want me to be in your life?" She leaned against the sinks.

Jace laughed, "I don't just want you in my life- I need you in it. I don't want those whores, I want you. I want someone who has self respect, who can hold the world on her own, who I wouldn't dare break. I want you."

Jace got closer to her, till he could hear her breathing and see every freckle scattered across her porcelain cheeks. He could almost see a fog of uncertainty in her eyes. She reached out and ran her hand down his toned stomach; his skin tingled under her touch. "Really?"

For the first time ever, it seemed to Jace that he had won her over. That she might actually be his. He smiled, latching his hands onto her tiny hips, slowly pulling her forward. He cautiously leaned his head towards hers, his eyes were asking for permission. She tilted her head upwards just a bit as if saying yes. He lightly touched his lips to hers, then grinned and pulled her completely into him in an embrace. He put more pressure on her lips and she returned the pressure. She brought her hands up to his hair and entwined her fingers in his golden curls. They both pulled back smiling.

It had been months since Clary and Jace got together; they were both happier than they have ever been. All their friends saw it, and they were too happy for the couple. Slutty girls kept trying to get Jace's attention, but he never gave it back, which Clary was thankful for.

A couple weeks later Jace got a call from a weird number, "Hello?" He answered.

"Is this Jace Wayland?"

"Yes," The voice was unfamiliar, Jace walked away from the group of friends, untwining his hand from Clary's. He threw her a reassuring smile.

"This is the New York Police Department, we have received a call from a woman saying she has a letter from your father addressed to you," That caught his ears, "We sent a man out there to see if it was legitimate, he didn't read it but it looks real. Normally we would just pass the letter to you, but she refuses to give it to anyone but yourself. She is very elderly so we cannot move her, so you will have to go to her, she lives in Pennsylvania, if you wish to receive the letter, stop by the station and we will give you her address."

"Thank you, I will."

Jace hung up and walked back to his group, "I have to go, see you later." He whispered to Clary and gave her a quick kiss.

He hopped into his car and drove straight to the police station. He needed to see whatever was in that letter.


	9. Chapter 9

At the police station Jace scribbled down the address of the woman he was going to see, 559 Wilson Street, Pottstown Pennsylvania.

He was in such a hurry that he didn't even bother to get any information on the woman. He hopped into his car and tapped the street address into his phone setting the GPS. It only took him 3 hours to get to the tiny little house. He took a few minutes to compose himself in the car. Then he remembered Jace Wayland never got nervous or afraid. He scoffed and flung himself out of the car.

He walked up to the house, it was small and simple. He slowly knocked on the wooden door, a small voice called from the other side of the door, "Just a second,"

The door creaked open to reveal a frail, old woman. She had pale blonde turning grey hair and pearl eyes. She looked as if she had been through a war of hardships, yet her eyes still showed a glowing kindness. Jace could tell that she was beautiful when she was younger and much stronger than she looked.

She opened her mouth to reveal a flawless smile. Her eyes glossed over looking at Jace, she looked down him taking in every feature. She reached a hand over her mouth, "You look so much like him," She whispered in awe. She then cleared her throat, "You must be Jace."

She ushered him into the house, it smelt of honey and fresh flowers. She led him to the living room and sat down on a plush chair in the corner. Jace sat down on the sofa across from the chair. "Yes, and you are?" He tried to ask as politely as possible. He was never one to be rude to old ladies. His words could break hearts and he didn't want to be the last one to hurt them before they passed.

"I'm Imogen Herondale." She shuffled through a cabinet next to where she was seated. She picked up a tinted envelope and blew the dust off of it. "I suppose this is why you're here."

Jace wondered how she knew his father, probably just an old friend. He swiftly got up and took the letter in his hands. On the cover of it, it read To My Son in black letters. His hands shock as he pulled the paper out, he unfolded it carefully. His eyes automatically shot to the bottom to see his father's signature. But it wasn't there, instead there was Stephen Herondale written in curvy black ink.

Jace looked up to Imogen, "This isn't my father. It says Stephen Herondale, my father is Michael Wayland."

Imogen looked troubled for a second, "So no one's told you?" Jace shook his head, "Your father died long ago-"

"I knew that," Jace interrupted.

"No, your father, Stephen Herondale, died when you were just months old and your mother had died during birth. That left you all alone, in Stephen's will, it was stated that if both him and his wife died then the custody of you, Jace, would go to his best friend, Michael, Wayland. Michael decided not to tell you until you were old enough to understand. You remember how Michael died when you were just fourteen," Jace nodded, "Well between the three of your 'parents' there was enough money to get you a little apartment, in which you live in now, and a car, that you couldn't use until you had your license."

It was true; Jace had been on his own since he was fourteen. A man came to his door the day his dad-god father, he didn't know what to call him- died and gave him keys to an apartment and a car. He would walk to school until he turned sixteen. Every week the man would bring him groceries and spending money. Jace never asked who the man was, or anything about him. He wanted nothing to do with the man that had left him alone in this world. Jace learned way back not to ask questions.

He nodded slowly, turning his attention back to the letter. It read:

To my son,

I know you most likely hate me, and I understand. I knew my life wasn't going to be very long. I befriended the wrong type of people, which led to a dangerous life. I tried to get away from it, trust me I did, but that just wasn't possible. After your mom died, I didn't try fighting the work I was doing. It made me feel alive and close to death, the death I desperately desired. It was selfish, I know. I couldn't handle it, I wasn't a father figure and without your mother I feared your upbringing. I feared you would turn out like me, a coward. A man who was too foolish to see what needed to be done. If my death does come soon, I have made arrangements with my good friend, Michael Wayland. He's a good man and hopefully will be a good father. I hope one day you will be able to forgive me.

I owe you so much,

Stephen Herondale

Jace's hands shook while reading it. He did hate his father, with every cell in his body. He left him because he didn't have the courage to man up and just get away from those people. Then handed him over to a man that would later beat him when it got too difficult to teach him like a real father should. He couldn't believe it, any of it.

Imogen was looking at him, reading his reaction. She knew it wasn't good.

Jace knew he couldn't go back to New York with this in his head, he couldn't see his friends. He couldn't hear his teachers can him by the last name Wayland. He needed time to think, desperately.

Imogen offered him as much time as he needed, so he stayed with her. He enjoyed hearing her talk of the 'old days' and being around her. He also enjoyed being away from the city and just in a simple town. He took a lot of walks, the fresh air helped him think and clear his head.

Two weeks passed and he went to get Imogen for breakfast up in her room. She was always up before him, so he was curious as to why she was not up. He walked into the room and went over to the curtains, opening them. Then he walked over to the bed. Imogen lay on her back with one hand on her chest and one next to her side. Jace put his hand over the one at her side and gasped when he felt her cold skin.

He quickly tried to find her pulse, but he was unsuccessful. He laid her hand on top of the other and looked at her. Her eyes were closed and even though her face was relaxed there was a faint smile on her lips. Jace knew that her time had been limited, he was glad she died peacefully like this. A small smile found his lips. After saying a few pleasant words he got up and called the police to take the body away. This was the third person to die in his life. The only person that thought of him as more than a playboy that had screwed up their life, to her he was a real person with real purpose. She had been so kind and truly honest to him and now she was gone. Gone.

He spent the next week he spent packing up her things and found that almost half of it was already sorted and labeled; she must have known she didn't have much time. He paused to look at the pictures of her in her youth. He was right, she was beautiful. He found a picture of her and a young boy that looked alot like him. That must be his father. He didn't pack that one. When he was mostly done, he alerted some people in her contacts to do things with the items he didn't know what to do with. She had already talked to her lawyers about some possessions and what would happen to the house.

Jace took the picture of Imogen and his father with him into his car and set his GPS to his apartment, not knowing the trouble he was coming home to.


	10. Chapter 10

Clary was freaking out. So Jace walked away, everything was fine; she assumed he would just be going home. Then he was gone for days, and then weeks. At first Clary was worried, she thought something bad had happened to him. Then weeks went by and she was falling apart.

Through out the weeks, random people would come up to her asking where Jace was, she would simply shrug and smile a little, not exactly knowing how to answer. Izzy and Alec weren't as upset as she was. Since his car was also gone, they figured he was just taking some time off. They informed Clary that he used to do it a lot when he needed to think, he would go into another town for a couple days. That got Clary worried too; what did Jace possibly need to think over that took three weeks!

They didn't understand.

One day Clary was at her locker, hopelessly tossing books into her messy locker, she saw a flash of blonde next to her. She flung her locker shut and stared at him. His hair was a little messier than usual; there was darkness under his eyes. He looked at her, his eyes lighting up a little as he looked into her emerald eyes. He smiled a little at her and opened his mouth to say something, but the bell sounded before he could make a word.

Neither he nor Clary moved. He took a second to read her, Jace couldn't figure out if she was mad or happy or upset.

When the bell ended Jace opened his mouth again, but Clary cut him off, "Where were you?" She screamed. A teacher poked his head out of the classroom near them; Jace grabbed her arm and pulled her outside.

"I was in Pennsylvania; I had to take care of some things."

Clary's hand curled into a fist at her side, in one swift motion, she swung forward punching Jace, square in the nose. Her fists were so tiny that they wouldn't be able to do anything by bruise his nose. Clary was never the type of girl for slaps; if she was going to hit someone it was going to be strong and hard.

Jace didn't even acknowledge the hit, "Clary, you don't understand."

Shaking with anger Clary yelled, "No Jace, you don't understand! You were gone for weeks, without even one word! 'See you later' was the last words you said to me. I didn't think you meant 3 weeks later! I thought you were dead!"

Clary's eyes had started to fill with tears; Jace noticed it and tried to pull her towards him to comfort her. She flinched away from him like he repelled her. He noticed it and frowned. Clary blinked away the tears. She was not going to cry in front of him; she was not going to show him how much he hurt her.

"I have to get to class." She said dully. She tried to walk away but he hopped in front of her.

"Wait," He pleaded

"No, Jace, just leave me alone." There was so much venom and vileness in her voice that he actually let her walk past him.

The rest of the day Clary hadn't avoided Jace, she just ignored him; which earned her many weird looks from her friends at lunch. Wasn't she supposed to be happy he was back? Jace went home and thought about what he could say to make her understand why he had to leave. It was true he didn't have stay there for so long, so he allowed her to be mad at him for that. After thinking about it for a while he decided to call her.

Clary got home from school and remembered that her mom was in Chicago for five days due to an art show. That meant she had the house to herself. She tried to do some of her homework but her mind kept wandering back to Jace. He just made her so angry.

Frustrated she slammed her book closed and wandered down stairs. She looked for something to eat for dinner; sadly her mom hadn't done any grocery shopping before she left. Looking though the different cabinets she found the one that kept the alcohol. A smile appeared on her face. There were different types of bottles: vodka, brandy, tequila, rum, and whiskey. It was weird she never saw her mom drink before. She reached for the bottle in the far back, it was Jamaican rum. She set the bottle down on the table and walked up to her room. She grabbed her iPod and plugged it into the speakers around her TV. Starting it up raised the volume up until the floor was vibrating. Then she drank.

About two hours later she was pretty wasted, she heard this buzzing noise, coming from the kitchen. She looked over to see her phone lighting up; she flew towards the speakers turning them down a little. She strolled over to her phone and saw the name on the screen, Jace. She scoffed with anger and pressed answer.

Trying to act as sober and possible she said, "Hello," Then she started laughing because she sounded too serious.

"Clary?"

"Yeah, Jace, who else would have my phone," She replied.

"Well you just sounded a little off,"

She giggled a little, "What are you talking about? I sound soooo normal!"

"Alright, can I come over?" He sounded a little on edge.

She chuckled a little, "No," She said simply.

"Why not?"

"Mmmmm," She looked for the right thing to say, "You won't like what you see."

"Well that's just too bad; I'll be over in ten minutes." Then he hung up.

Clary shrugged and put down the phone, shrugged and skipped over to the speakers turning them up again.

By the time Jace had showed up 3/4ths of the rum was gone from the bottle, meaning she was to the point where she was slurring her words and not being able to walk straight.

When Jace hung up the phone he thought she might have another guy over from what she said. Hell, he didn't care, he could take them. He walked towards the door, Isabelle looked up from her magazine to look at him putting on his jacket,

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"To Clary's,"

"Bad idea," She just stated.

"Why?" Jace asked, maybe Izzy knew why he wouldn't 'like what he'll see'.

She put her magazine down and sighed dramatically, "Because right now Clary hates you with every cell in her body. The only reason she hates you so much right now is because she loved you, but now all that love has turned to hate; a fiery, burning hatred for you. Now you're about to go into her unstable, little war zone unarmed and alone with your one- man army."

Jace thought about it for a second, maybe he should just leave her alone. No. He looked Izzy right in the eyes, "Clary's worth it."

It took him five minutes to get to Clary's house, he knocked on the door once, but he could feel the music's vibrations through the door so he banged on it. Slowly a petite red head opened the door, hardly about to stand up. Her eyes were droopy and her mouth fell into a sloppy grin. "Jace,"

It took him half a second after smelling her breath when she said his name to see how she poorly dealt with her problems, "Oh God, you're drunk?"


	11. Chapter 11

He looked at her with disappointment in his eyes. She stepped away, well more like stumbled away, and Jace walked in. He put his hand on her back trying to stabilize her but she just brushed it off. Clary looked around at Jace.

"Oh no, no, you can't give me that look." She yelled over the music. Jace just continued to look at her. He saw something in her eyes, hurt maybe or sadness. It pained him to see that so he averted his eyes to the kitchen where something caught his eye. There was smoke coming out of the microwave.

"Clary!" He ran over to it and opened it up, once the smoke thinned he saw little black crisps on a plate. He looked over to Clary incredulously, "What are these?"

She giggled a little, "They're dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, of course."

"Of course," Jace breathed. He dumped the crisps in the trash and picked up a phone.

"What are you doing?" Clary appeared behind him and rested her head against his back.

"I'm ordering pizza." Clary nodded against his back and cringed, it seemed, and pulled away.

Clary stumbled away and over to the kitchen counter where her bottle was. She could smell the foul stench as she neared it. She brought it up to her lips and took a huge gulp down, she almost spit it out. She knew that Jace would take the bottle away from her so she might as well get the most in her while she can. Her head felt immediately heavier. She smiled.

"The pizza will be her in a little while…" Jace said as he walked into the room and turned down the music. He saw the bottle next to her, sighing he took the bottle and placed it on top of the refrigerator, where he knew Clary couldn't get it.

"So why'd you get drunk?" He sat down next to Clary on the island.

She shrugged, "I just felt like it,"

Jace stood up and poured a glass of water, he went back to the island and put the glass in front of Clary, "Bullshit," She shrugged again, "Was it because of me?"

That's when she picked up the glass and took a sip, not looking at Jace.

"Clary, I know you're angry," She scoffed, "But just hear me out, ok? I had to take care of a family matter, then something happened and I had to stay longer. I needed to think, I needed to just pull out of the city for a while."

Clary slugged off the chair and walked a couple feet, "I get that, I just don't get why you didn't tell me."

Jace went over to where she was standing, "I don't know, I guess it was just because I needed to cut off all connections to get through what it was I was going through. I needed to just focus on me."

"That still doesn't make it ok, Jace." She spat at him with words laced with venom.

Before Jace could respond the door bell rang, he walked to the door. He opened it to see a girl about his age standing with a medium pizza in her hand. By society's standards she was definitely hot. She flashed a flirty smile at Jace who just looked away in response.

"That will be $13.50, sir." The girl said seductively.

Jace pulled out his wallet as Clary walked up behind him. She looked at the girl and saw her intentions, "Oh, honey, he is so not worth it. But by the looks of it, neither are you."

Jace cracked a smile at the comment as the girl scowled, he handed her three five dollar bills, took the pizza and closed the door with a smirk.

Jace took the pizza to the counter and took a slice. Clary sat next to him but didn't make a move towards the pizza.

"Aren't you going to eat?" He asked.

She shook her head, "If I do, then I'll end up throwing it all up."

Jace chuckled, "I can take care of you."

She frowned, but opened the box and took a slice. She took a couple bites before Jace spoke.

"Clary…"

"No Jace, I'm done talking about this- about us. I got drunk so I didn't have to feel that pain over you. I got drunk so I didn't have to think, so I could just feel numb. Now, why can't you just let me do that?" She pressed the palms of her hands to her eyes as she felt a headache growing.

"Because I care about you, why can't we just forget this? Why can't we just be together?"

"I was reluctant to be with you in the first place. I knew your reputation and how badly I could get hurt if I let you in, so I was reluctant. Then I finally agree to it and suddenly you're gone. How do I know that you won't leave again? How can I trust you? So no, I can't just forget about it. You left without looking back, you didn't care. That's the thing with you, Jace. I don't know if you care about this at all. You said you do, but you act so differently. It took a lot to get me to trust you and you betrayed that trust without hesitation. I can't just forget that."

He gaped at her, "Clary…"

She tugged herself away from the table and went to one of the cabinets, "I need another drink."

Jace rushed over and put his large hand over her small hand on the cabinet handle. She pulled hers away from his. She walked away from him. Sighing she said, "Jace, I think you should just go-" Her eyes went wide then she dove into the bathroom and threw up in the toilet bowl. Jace rushed in after her and put his hand on her back rubbing circles into her back. After throwing up a couple more times, she passed out with her head on the toilet rim. Jace sat against the wall facing the toilet; he pulled Clary against him so her back rested against his chest. He, to the best of his knowledge, put her hair in a bun, knowing she would throw up again. He kept his hand around her wrist, feeling her pulse just in case it dropped or heightened and because the steady beat calmed him down. Once in a while, when he could tell that her stomach was going to drain its contents he would push her up against the toilet and hold her head while she vomited. He would wipe her mouth then give her a cup of water and urge her to sleep. He didn't sleep much that night, but to him it was worth it. "I told you I could take care of you."


	12. Chapter 12

Clary slowly woke up and immediately noticed a moving being behind her. She turned her head to see Jace asleep behind her. It was then that she realized her surroundings. She was in the bathroom; the smell of bile was present in the air. Memories of the previous night awakened in her mind.

Oh, God. What have I done? She thought to herself.

Clary tried to sit up but her wrist was stuck in something; Jace's hand. She tried to discreetly peel it off but he woke up. "Clary…"

"Morning, Jace." Clary said as she sat up and walked out of the bathroom, she heard Jace mutter something.

Jace walked into the kitchen and took a bite of the cold pizza on the table. Clary sat at the island rubbing her temples; a small groan escaped her mouth.

"How are you feeling?" Jace asked putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Like I got wacked in the head with a shovel," Clary said groggily.

"Pleasant,"

Clary spun around in her stool so that she was facing Jace. His hands dropped awkwardly to his sides, for he didn't know what to do with them. She had this look in her emerald eyes, a look that Jace knew all too well. She was contemplating her next words and she knew that they would hurt.

"I'm sorry," Not the words he was expecting. "I'm sorry I put you in the position in which you had to take care of me and I'm sorry for everything I have done to you, but I think you should go."

"Clary…"

"I've made up my mind Jace. I don't just want you to go now I want you out of…" She hesitated on the next words, "my life. I just can't see your face without hurting. It would just make things easier for me. So, please, just leave me alone."

With all the pain in her voice, Jace knew that this wasn't exactly what she wanted but it was what she needed. And he understood that. So he nodded. For all he ever wanted was for her to be happy, even if it meant that that his absence was needed to obtain it. With a deep breath and one final look at her he walked out of the house.

As Jace drove, he got angrier and angrier. He decided to go to the Lightwoods house and talk to Izzy. He always felt at home with the Lightwoods and they didn't care if he showed up out of the blue. His family had been close with theirs and he really needed some advice. He didn't want it to be over between the two of them. He stomped into the house; he noticed that Izzy was in the kitchen. "Hey Jace," she called.

"Hey," He called back and walked over to the fridge. "So, where were you last night? Alec wanted to talk but your phone was off." Izzy eyed him suggestively.

"At Clary's, she was drunk." He stated as he got out some orange juice.

"Did you take advantage of her?!" Izzy yelled.

Jace shook his head, "No, calm down best friend police."

"Well you know how tiny she is…anyways; did you two patch things up?"

Jace's eyes visibly darkened, "No, she told me to get lost."

"Jace…" Izzy stood up and walked over to him.

Jace could feel his blood start to boil; he could feel his anger conquering the rest of his body. "You know, I don't get it. I don't get how everyone thinks that they can just piss on me or screw me over and think that I'm strong enough that I can just take it. I can't! I loved her, Izzy! I really did. She knows it and she won't give me the chance to make it up to her. She doesn't trust me anymore, only after this one fucking thing!"

"You have a reputation, Jace." Izzy put her arm on his forearm trying to calm him.

"Fuck my reputation." He snarled, "I've changed, and I think I've proved it too."

"You have, Jace. So show her that. Maybe you just need to leave her alone a little while and then slowly get her back. Show her what she needs to see. You're a good guy, Jace." Izzy said quietly.

Jace nodded and opened his mouth to say another thing but a little voice cut him off, "What's going on? I heard yelling." The littlest Lightwood stood under the doorframe across from them. He was in his little pajamas, rubbing his eyes.

Izzy could feel Jace's muscles relax under her hand; he walked over to Max and picked him up, "Oh, it's nothing, why don't I read you some of your manga comics to you."

"Ok,"

A week passed and things at school were weird. The group could feel the tension between Clary and Jace but decided to stay out of it. Jace did as Izzy advised and gave Clary her space. He just hoped it wouldn't take long for her to come around.

Clary came home one day to Jocelyn and Luke sitting at the kitchen table gazing at her with slight smiles.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" She asked suspiciously.

Jocelyn and Luke made eye contact before speaking, "Well, honey, Luke's work has been relocated back to Los Angeles. I guess the sales dropped here in New York, he said something to do with the weather. So he's moving and said we could come and live with him if we wanted."

It made sense that he would offer that, he was Jocelyn's best friend and knew what was happening with Valentine and all the family problems.

Clary stared at her mother with a blank face. "What about Valentine?"

A smile crept onto Jocelyn's face, "He won't find us, we can make sure of that. Clary, we can be safe, we can be free."

"So we're moving to LA?" Clary asked.

"Well since it is your senior year, we figured, if you wanted, we could arrange for you to stay with a family here, maybe the Lightwoods or Simon's family. Or you could come with us. Luke's boss wants him back in LA by the end of the month so you have a couple weeks to think about it."


	13. Chapter 13

Clary went to school the next day still not having made up her mind. The way she saw it was that she had friends, and a live, back in LA. But there was still something and made her want to stay in New York. She spent all day trying to figure out what that thing was. An annoying voice in the back of her head kept saying that it was Jace. Clary didn't want to believe it but it was most likely true.

At her locker she was greeted by the Izzy, Alec, and Jace. When she met Jace's eyes he just smiled a little; it was an odd smile though. She returned it with one of her own. Izzy started talking about one of the cute boys she met at the mall the previous weekend. Clary just tuned out, she still couldn't get what her parents had said out of her head.

"Don't you think so, Clary?" Isabelle laughed and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Huh, oh yeah, yeah," Clary said throwing on her best fake smile.

Clearly Izzy wasn't satisfied with her answer because she cocked her head and said, "Is everything alright?"

Clary closed her locker and opened her mouth ready to lie and dash. Jace saw this as he stood behind Isabelle and the look he gave Clary told her that she shouldn't dare lie to her. And Clary knew she couldn't.

Clary hitched her backpack onto her shoulder, "Izzy, I need to talk to you." She grabbed Izzy's hand and pulled her out onto the grassy part of the quad.

Clary stood a couple feet away from Izzy and had her back to her; she refused to meet Izzy's curious eyes. "Clary, you're scaring me." Izzy said walking around Clary to talk to her. Clary tried to turn again but Izzy caught her shoulders in her hands.

"I might be leaving." Clary looked up at Izzy; the confusion was still in her eyes.

"Leaving? Leaving what?"

Clary couldn't tear her eyes away from Izzy's, "Leaving New York, my mom's friend's work is moving back to Los Angeles and he said we could live with him, it would be better for my family to do that, but I don't know what I'm doing yet."

The pain in Izzy's eyes was prominent. She stood there with her mouth slightly open; her hands fell off of Clary's shoulders.

The bell for first period rang, but neither one of them moved. Within half a minute it they were completely alone.

"Izzy, say something," Clary begged.

"When?" Her voice was a whisper.

"About a month," Clary said and Izzy closed her eyes, everything about her was tense. "But, Izzy, I might not go, my parents said I could stay here to finish my senior year here. But-"

"But you have a better life back there and better friends and warmer weather, huh?" Isabelle didn't really sound mad; her words were laced with sadness and pain.

"Izzy," Clary tried to talk again but Izzy cut her off.

Isabelle had crossed her arms on her chest, "It's what you were going to say weren't you, maybe not say, but it was what you would mean. Well, I'm not letting you go without a fight. No way in hell."

Clary opened her mouth to talk but Isabelle shushed her and pointed to her head saying she was collecting her thoughts.

"Clary, you're my best friend. I don't usually have best friends because I don't have many friends who are girls. So when you came here my life got so much better, it was like a gift from the Angel. I'm not usually good with people, but you're just so easy to be around for me. I can do anything with you' I can be me with you. I know that sounds sappy and lame but it's true. And honestly you're the best best friend I could imagine. And maybe you've got a better best friend than me in LA, but I need you here. So stay here…for me."

Clary could see that tears had risen to Izzy's eyes. The extraordinary thing about it was that Isabelle was the toughest person Clary had ever met.

Isabelle finished, "Deeply consider it, Clary, and if you still want to leave then…ok."

One tear was on the break of falling but Izzy brushed it away. Clary was at loss for words, she was watching her best friend fall apart in front of her. She pulled Isabelle into a hug. Thank the Angel that Izzy was wearing flats today so the height difference wasn't that bad. It wasn't like one of those lame hugs; no this was a tight and personal type hug.

"And if you do decide to leave, tell me as soon as possible so I can spend every second I can with you." Izzy muttered into Clary's ear.

"Ok,"

It had been a couple of days and Clary had refrained from telling any of her friends back at home of the possibility of her coming back because she didn't want to give them any false hope. She knew she should make up her mind soon. It only hit her recently how much she missed her friends back home. She hadn't talked to them in over half a year. And, boy, did she miss the warm sun and hot oceans. But what about Izzy and the others that she had made friends with over the months. Then there was Jace. She didn't know how much more drama with him she could take. If anything she would go back to LA just to get a break from the NY drama. One thing that made the decision so much more difficult was that it was only five more months that she would be staying in a place before college. Was it really worth staying in New York five months opposed to going back to California for only five months?

With a couple more thoughts she had made up her mind.

Clary got to school the next day eager to see Isabelle at her locker. Izzy saw Clary swiftly walking towards her and knew that the decision had been made. She couldn't see Clary's expression so her heart started pounding. When Clary neared her, she bowed her head, concealing either a smile or a frown, Isabelle didn't know. When Clary raised her head, Izzy pulled her into a tight hug. Izzy released the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"You're leaving, aren't you?" She already knew the answer but she just needed to know for sure; she needed the closure.

"I'm so sorry, Izzy. I just- I need to go back home." Clary almost sobbed into Izzy's shoulder, it was the first time she had admitted her decision out loud.

"It's ok, Clary." Izzy said, even though she could feel a little piece of her breaking. A small tear escaped her eye and she hugged Clary tighter.

The two best friends clung to each other dreading the future to come.


	14. Chapter 14

Clary had told her mom and Luke of her decision and they seemed ecstatic. They had packed up most of their house secretly and were planning on leaving in a week to get to LA early and re-establish their life. She had already told most of her friends about the move and after a little convincing they accepted it.

The moving truck had taken away most of her belongings, so she just laid on her bed listening to music; she had plans to hang out with Simon, Izzy, Alec, Magnus, and Jace later in the night. Izzy insisted that they hang out every day before she left. Jocelyn had arranged that Clary didn't need to go to school anymore but she went anyways, she wanted things to be normal before the big day.

Seven o'clock came around and Clary was already walking through the memorized streets on New York, she would miss this; all of it. Some might say that New York was smelly and crowded, and everyone was always in a bad mood, but to her for the last year it had been home. Suddenly she came to the diner that the group had decided to go to; it was called Taki's. She saw the five of them standing outside talking.

"Hey guys," She said as she walked up to them. She noticed that Izzy and Simon's hands were intertwined. "When did this happen?" She beamed.

Simon shrugged dorkishly, "Last night," Clary just wiggled her eyes suggestively in response.

Alec spoke up, "Shall we?" and gestured towards the door.

Magnus, Alec's boyfriend, moaned, "Yes! I'm starving!" and Alec grumbled, "When aren't you?"

Magnus glared his cat like eyes towards Alec and Alec just pushed him through the doors, laughing. The rest of them followed them into the building.

Taki's was nice; it had a homey feeling to it. Clary sat on the edge of the booth, facing Jace. The waiter came up and placed his hand on Clary's shoulder, "What can I get you guys?" He was young, around their age. He was cute too, Clary thought, a light blush crept up to her cheeks when his skin touched her bare shoulder. The group ordered regular sodas and different types of pancakes, it was their specialty. The waiter nodded and left, when Clary turned back to the group she noticed Izzy smiling like a Cheshire cat.

"What?" She asked.

Izzy's smile never left, "He was totally into you!" she exclaimed, the rest agreed, except Jace.

"Yeah, maybe," Clary said sheepishly.

The waiter came back with a tray full of drinks, and handed them to each person. When Clary took hers, her fingers brushed his. She took a sip from the straw of her Coke. After handing it to Clary, the boy winked causing Clary to have a coughing fit.

"Are you choking, I mean I know CPR if it's needed?" The boy said with a playful smile dancing on his lips.

Before Clary could recover, Jace spoke lowly, "I don't think that will be necessary."

The boy lifted his hands up defensively, laughed a little, and walked away.

They all laughed as Clary finally breathed again, she threw Jace a questioning look which he just ignored. The rest of the time they were there they talked about mindless things and just hung out. Once they were done, they paid and walked out. They had decided to go back to the Lightwoods house and hang out. Clary's parents didn't care when she was home because school no longer mattered.

"So Clary, what are we going to do tomorrow?" Izzy asked as they were walking.

"Well we could-" Clary started to say but was interrupted.

Jace peeped up, "Why so much Clary time, is she dying or something?"

Izzy threw Clary an incredulous look, as if to say "You haven't told him", Clary just threw her back a silencing glare.

"Uh, Jace drop back for a second," Clary grabbed his arm and the slowed down their speed and when they were about twenty feet behind the others they started walking normally again.

"Clary, you know Demon Pox really isn't that bad." Jace joked.

"Now isn't the time for comic relief, Jace." She spoke sadly,

"Ok, talk."

"I'm moving at the end of the week." She said quickly.

"What!" Jace said, and stopped walking. Clary stopped too, her back was to him; she just couldn't face him. "Why didn't you tell me? Please tell me you're only going to like New Jersey or Pennsylvania."

Still not facing him she mumbled, "Los Angeles, California."

She heard him sigh, "All the way across the country! Can't you stay here? There is only a couple more months; you could stay with me or Izzy. Or I could move over there with you, I don't have any ties here. Why- why do you have to leave?"

She turned to him, the look on his face saddened her, "No Jace, you do have ties here. All your friends, this is your home, this is where you belong." He slowly nodded, "My parents gave me to opportunity to stay here to finish senior year, but I turned it down," Jace's face twisted with confusion, "Jace, I still have a life back there, that's where I grew up! Things are too complicated here, and plus, in a few months you won't even remember I was here. I'll be happy over on the west coast, Jace."

Jace took a few steps forward, and took Clary's hands in his. He gazed into her emerald eyes; he looked at her like she was a work of art. In that moment, he memorized every one of her features. "I could never forget you. I don't want you to leave, but if you'll be happy… I've only ever wanted you to be happy."

Clary squeezed his hands and let go of one, "We should catch up with the others," She took the hand that was still in his and intertwined her fingers with his.

The rest of the week passed by fairly fast, the group hung out every night. Her parents had left Friday night to meet with a real estate agent about buying a new house, Clary convinced her parents to let her leave Sunday night around midnight. Sunday night came around fast and Clary and her friends had planned a little party for her departure at Jace's apartment. The party was nothing special, just hanging around, no alcohol was involved since Clary had to get on a plane in a couple hours. When 10 o'clock came around, Clary knew it was time to go. They all drove to the airport together. Clary got her ticket and knew the end of the line was coming near. The six of them got to the point where Clary had to go on alone.

As she turned around she saw all their faces, they all wore masks of happiness, and so did Clary. Alec and Magnus gave her quick hugs saying they'd miss her. Simon gave her a hug mentioning a pleasant memory in which they stayed up till sunrise playing video games.

Izzy hurled Clary into her arms, saying she would call all the time and they would talk about boys and how silly they are. She spoke of how they should meet up a lot and send letters if Clary gets her phone changed. How she would never forget her and never stop missing her. She reluctantly let her go after remembering that Clary actually had a plane to catch.

Jace didn't just hug Clary, he held her like if he let go he would never see her again, which, in reality, was the truth. She huddled against his tense body. Jace didn't say anything, so when he pulled away Clary looked at him with sad eyes. After all this, he had nothing to say to her. He would never see her again and he had nothing to say to her? Jace didn't notice her gaze, he wasn't looking at just her eyes; he was looking at every piece of her. His eyes stopped at her lips and suddenly he was kissing her. Clary didn't stop him; she would never in a million years stop him. It was if that kiss was saying every word he didn't say when they were holding each other. Every emotion, every memory was in that kiss; and within seconds it was over.

He held her face, running his thumbs over her cheekbones, "Parting is such sweet sorrow." He quoted Shakespeare, one of both their favorites. The line also indicated that they would see each other again, to which she smiled.

After one last glance she went walked away.

After going through the security check and all she was sitting at the departure gate. She had gotten a cinnamon roll at one of the stands and was eating it as she waited. After it was gone she played on her phone for a little while someone spoke over the intercom, "American Airlines Flight 815 to Los Angeles, now boarding."


	15. Chapter 15

Minutes passed as she was waiting for the line to shirk, Clary never really liked lines so she just waited. Eventually there were only a couple people left and she walked up, a couple seconds later a lady asked, "Your boarding ticket, miss?" Clary held out the ticket knowing that she was about to leave everything behind. The other woman's fingers wrapped around the slim paper and tugged, but the ticket didn't move.

Is this really what you want, to leave, to run away? If it is, then why are you still holding onto the paper? A voice said in the back of her head. It was true, Clary's hand hadn't let go of the ticket, and her knuckles had turned white due to the pressure.

"Miss?" The woman asked, raising an eyebrow.

Clary was staring at the plane ticket still clutched in her hand, and suddenly her arm tugged the ticket from the other woman's hand. "I'm sorry, I- I just- I can't." Clary stuttered as she clasped onto the handle of her small suitcase that held the last of her clothes. She ran out of the departure gate, through the entire airport to the street. She didn't see any sign of Jace's car so she figured they must have left already. She put two fingers in her mouth and blew, just like the native New Yorkers would.

Jace was driving like a maniac. After Clary had left he was in one of the sourest moods his friends had seen him in. All of them were pretty down after Clary's departure. Jace was speeding; he didn't seem to care about any limit whatsoever at that point. Car's horns were blaring.

"Jace, please explain why you are driving like hell is chasing you." Alex said in an irritated tone.

Jace revved the engine as the tires crawled faster across the earth, "'Cause we're getting drunk tonight." His mouth was a flat line; there was no emotion in his words.

"Amen to that." He heard Izzy say behind him.

"Jace, I don't know if-" Alec started to say but his boyfriend cut him off.

"Darling, when isn't it a good time to have a few drinks. Plus it looks like most of us need it." Magnus said playing with Alec's hair. It was true; the group had been through a lot in the last couple weeks, with Clary leaving and all. They had all gotten fairly close to her though out the year and were sad to see her go so soon. Whenever they weren't with her they were mostly alone. Each one of them would stay in their rooms, it was like a poison; Clary leaving, it slowly sucked the life out of each of them. And if alcohol was an antidote, then so be it.

The car's tires squealed across the street in front of Jace's apartment. The five of them poured out and up into Jace's apartment. Alec and Magnus settled themselves on the couch, Simon went to the stereo to add some music to the dull event. Jace and Izzy headed straight for the alcohol cabinet. They broke out the whiskey, gin, and vodka along with a couple of shot glasses. "Who wants to do shots?" Izzy yelled.

"Us!" Magnus yelled dragging Alec up with him; Simon was already seated at the bar.

Music was blasting from Jace's large speakers as Izzy poured a line of five shots. They all knocked their drinks back and Izzy refilled the glasses. They kept doing that from some time, till they were all pretty wasted. Jace was swaying to the music while eating the nachos he prepared for himself. The rest of them were sitting on the couch, piled on top of each other, laughing about something they wouldn't remember in the morning.

Jace was too busy laughing about how weird his nachos looked through his drunken eyes, that he didn't hear Izzy yelling, "Jace, some idiot is knocking on the door!"

"Well, then maybe you should let them in!" He called back with a mouth full of chips and melted cheese.

Isabelle detached herself from the other bodies and stumbled to the door laughing. She didn't even bother to look through the peep hole, for all she knew it could be a police officer on the other side of the door. She swung the door open to a little red headed girl with a suitcase standing on the other side. Izzy cocked her head, wasn't Clary gone? Her drunkenness had fogged up her head so much she hadn't noticed her best friend standing in front of her. She flung Clary into her arms. "CLARY! YOU'RE HERE! BUT-BUT HOW?" She yelled.

Clary stepped in and closed the door behind her, slightly wincing at how loud the music was. Then she realized; they were all drunk.

Simon flung towards the music and shut it off, all of them stood there in front of her for a minute. They stared at her in awe then Jace said in a small voice, "You're here, you're really here. Are you…?" His question dropped not knowing if he wanted to know the answer.

"Staying? Yes, yes I am." She said proudly. He rushed towards her almost knocking Simon over in the process; his arms were around her within a second. His hands were flat against her back pressing her into him, then restricting around her small torso. Clary's arms weaved themselves around his neck. Jace leaned his forehead against hers, his eyes were closed; "I thought I'd lost you." His lips lightly skimmed hers, leaving a slight spark where they touched, "I here, Jace, I'm not going anywhere." She felt him cover her lips with his; she could taste vodka and nacho chips? At first the kiss was gentle and innocent, then his drunken mind took over and he deeped the kiss, his tongue pressing at her bottom lip, begging to be let in. Clary laughed under his lips, and pulled away. Jace looked a little sad.

"So guys, here's the deal. I'm staying for the rest of the year, but I need somewhere to stay," Izzy's eyes lit up like a light bulb, Clary smiled back at her "I figured you'd react that way. I still have to call my mom and tell her all that is going on, but I can do that in the morning… so where was this party before I so rudely interrupted it?"

"Well I was just about to do some shot's with my girlfriend, she finally showed up." Jace said fake dramatically.

"And I was also going to do some shots with my best friend, weird she was a little late to the party." Izzy joked lining up the glasses. The group huddled near the bar. After drowning one shot, Simon spoke, "Clary Fray is here to stay!" He rhymed the words.

Magnus and Alec groaned as the rest laughed a little, there were multiple "For the love of god," and "How are you in a band?" spoke between them.

The rest of the year went great, the lot had moderately good grades and all graduated. They were a little sad that they were leaving the high school after all the memories, but they weren't going to miss each other because half of them were planning to stay in New York for college, Clary doing art, Jace doing acting, Magnus and Isabelle doing fashion, Simon with his music, and Alec becoming a producer. They were all happy with where they were. Life was good.


End file.
